Verdandi

[zenvodunista]

Deep herbs and apple with black amber.

There's something so buttery in this. It's really weird... under that, the apple. Crisp and fresh. This is odd, and somewhat disturbing, actually.,,, and then the disturbing stuff fades, leaving a bright crispe apple! Practically juicy! Hmmm. A possible bottle may be in order as it actually smells like i always hoped Samhain would.

n. Edited February 7, 2006 by Shollin

[slave1]

In Bottle: Apples!

 

On Skin: Juicy apple! I feel like I’ve just bitten into an apple, I even smell and taste the peel. How fresh and vibrant! The herbs seem crisp as well, a little minty and add to that beautiful fresh scent! Very invigorating. After a few minutes the scent darkens as the amber shows through. I like how it just changes slightly. This seems like a fall/autumn scent. Very pretty and gender neutral. I think this would be a perfect room scent for this Fall, I will be keeping the imp for sure.

[Caltha]

Verdandi

BPAL's apple doesn't like me, as I can already tell from Hesperides. It's a musty sweet baked apple, but in Verdandi it also has a touch of schampoo fresh fake apple. Unfortionarely none of the crisp freshness of actual apple. The combination of sweet baked apple with caramel and minty Vick's apple stays as it dries, and it also turns sort of powdery. Not bad but not very good either.

[abbycomix]

I was hoping for something that smelled more like fresh apple, but this came out as a more of a baked apple on me too. Also something smelled a bit "perfumey" which I think was the dark amber. Not really my cup of tea. Oh, well. Time to swap!

[niter]

Imp

Apple is the forerunning note and is quicly followed by a thicker (cream or resin) note and darker toned spices. It is quite pretty.

 

Wet

The apple note is the first and last note I smell when trying this. In the middle of the "sniff" is that darker thick scent. A big fan of the Hesperides, I am trying to figure out if I like this or not. Something is so gorgeous about this scent yet it does not seem to fall together as beautifully as the Hesperides on my skin.

 

Dry

Suprisingly, the apple settled in this blend to remain a very complementary base to the spicy notes. This is quite a lovely autumnal, harvest scent. While Hesperides smells of fresh picked fall apples and cider, this smells of spicy mulled cider. I found that Hesperides is more all season for me but I am not letting this one go because it is GORGEOUS. I MUST get a bottle for next fall.

 

A few minutes more and the spices really start mulling the mix...it smells very warm, autumny apple.

[Mountaingrrl00]

I'm partial to BPAL's ambers, and this is no exception. This is warm without being cloying, and the apple adds a bright/tart dimension. The herbs keep it from smelling too much like standard apple-spice. I find it very wearable for everyday.

[tinyvulture]

apples! crisp green apples that seem to grow more ripe and sweet as the oil dries on my skin. clean herbal notes in the background and a hint of “apple pie” spice that fades in and out. i can’t pick up on the amber at all. i absolutely adore the oaken notes in The Hesperides, but this is a great apple scent in its own way.

[myandroidconcubine]

Mmmm my wrist doesn't want to leave my nose long enough to type.

 

This is quintessentially apples. Eating apples, sitting in an apple tree, talking about apples, throwing apples at your cousins, walking through the mall wearing a lighty apple-print dress in spring while biting into an apple as a boy watches you. Seductive apples, playful apples, apples-apples-apples. This is definitely going to be my spring/summer perfume of choice. It's light and clean and lovely without being cloying or boring, and I love it.

Edited April 12, 2006 by my.android.concubine

[tamburlaine]

In the bottle Verdandi is definitely apple-licious. On my skin the amber comes out a little more, but I'm surprised that it still hides behind the tart and bright apple smell, since amber almost always blows up when it hits my skin. I'm not getting too much of an herbal vibe from this, and after a few minutes the oil gets soapy and smells a bit like hotel shampoo. Depending on how much attention I pay to it when I sniff my wrist, Verdandi can either be rather good or rather disappointing. Overall, it's mediocre, but I think it's because I'm not as big of an apple fan as I thought.

[PixieSkull]

Imp: Apple and leaves. I'm so reminded of Hamadryad that it was a flash of images of autumn when I sniffed the imp, wow.

Wet: Nice, juicy apple. The herbs seem to be coming out, cool herbs.

Dry: Generic sweet dirty apple, not much to write about. Faded quick

 

Category: Apple

Rating: 2/5; nice, but generic

Overall: I wouldn't wear this to smell great, I would wear it to layer with something darker and less sweet. It's a nice blend for those that love the smell of apples, I don't like that smell.

[themerrybaker]

Verdandi seems like the love child of Ides of March and Harvest Moon. It is predominantly herbal rather than apple on me. I like Verdandi, but it is so similar to my other scents.

[smallvoice]

In the imp this smells tart, crisp and lovely. There's a hint of cider, and it's almost a memory scent, if I could only capture the memory.

 

On my skin the herbs really ground the scent, but the apples are still prominent. It actually has the same feel of Aizen-myoo, but milder in some ways. Eventually a slight medicinal note creeps out. I wouldn't wear this enough to justify a big bottle, but I'm glad I got to try it. The apple note is one I'll be looking out for; it's beautiful. It seems like it would be a stellar room scent.

[nightbird]

This was the second apple-y oil I tried. I like this one better than the Hesperides; it's got more of an apple scent and it didn't turn into something that made me cringe after it dried. I smelled more herbs than apple, unfortunately, and something that screamed APPLE! was what I was looking for.

 

rating: 2/5

[gaai]

Instant *swoon* the second I opened the imp and smelled this!

I absolutely adore this blend and I never would've thought I would, based on the notes alone ( didn't think I'd like apples ).

It starts with just fresh apples which get more herbally when it dries, but stays mostly apple........when completely dry it's this wonderfull apple/herb/amber blend

I find it really calming......

[edenssixthday]

Verdandi is an absolutely gorgeous blend! It’s a deep, resinous apple scent that I just adore. I don’t usually care for apple scents, but this one is positively delicious. It stays fairly close to my skin, but it lasts several hours, although the scent slowly begins the fading process almost as soon as I apply it.

[couscous]

Now THIS is an autumn scent. Early autumn, to be sure, because verdandi's biggest problem is that she just doesn't like to stick around. Very light, very sheer.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with apple scents. I love apples and am always intrigued when beth uses them, but I have always ended up with disappointment. Apple usually ends up smelling kind of flat, sweet, and...er...a little bit cheap on me, like drugstore shampoo. Whe mixed with any kind of "autumn spice", the cheap shampoo effect quickly turns to cheap candle instead. The note itself is overused in other products, and this makes it hard to enjoy in a perfume.

 

The remedy? Go for the tart, of course, and that's just what Beth has done. Here, the apple is a high-pitched, slightly sour counterpart to close-skin amber, and the effect is gorgeous. With an unidentified mix of herbal notes stepping in for the spices, you get a perfume that is just as comforting as the classic apple pie but not nearly as cliched; as natural and as woodsy as Samhain and Harvest Moon without the medicinal quality of the former or the syrup of the latter. There might also be some poppies in this, methinks- it bears a passing resemblance on the drydown to the equally excellent Vechernyaya.

 

If you like your apples more granny smith than red delicious, or if you want the freshness of fruit without the overwhelming sweet, try Verdandi. She's the most grown-up apple I've found to date.

Edited July 23, 2006 by couscous

[Galatea]

In the Imp: A clean clear pool of spring water deep in a green lush forest.

Watery with clean herb notes.

 

Wet: Ahhhhh, very relaxing. I can see this becoming a bedtime scent for me. It's clear and sweet enough, with calming herbal notes, and warm apple with amber. It smells clean without being one of those overpowering "clean" scents or the least bit soapy.

 

Dry: This is just sweet enough, lightly apple-scented, and all around wonderful. This would make the perfect household scent. My husband would love it as his favorite Yankee candle tart is MacIntosh.

 

Throw: Pretty good, it smells like a combination herb garden and apple orchard.

 

Overall: This is very nearly an epitome of spring.

 

Rating: +++

[illyriajem]

Apple stands out the most too me. In the bottle of course, wet it went a lil funny smelling but then it dried to a lovely apple and herb scent. I'm not always in the mood for fruity scents, but this is great for when I am.

[sofiaviolet]

I can smell the apple very strongly. It smells kind of boozy. Something yeasty comes through on my skin. I find it very unpleasant. To the swaps with Verdandi.

[provocateur]

In bottle: Apple!

 

On skin, wet: A very herby apple. I'm almost tempted to make a pie.

 

On skin, dry: A rich dark amber apple.

 

Conclusion: Necessity, indeed.

 

Rating: 4/5

[spark]

Another scent that, due to my "blind spot" for amber, seems rather simple... just straight apple in the vial and on the skin. I don't get much herby-ness either. The apple is pretty, but too plain for my taste.

[blackfelicula]

I got Verdandi in an imp lot, secondhand, so she should be on the aged side.

 

In the bottle: I smell the apple strongly, though it reminds me more of candles scented of apple than of juicy ripe apples that I could munch on.

 

Wet: Like a spiced apple candle. The amber grounds it somewhat. I think the amber is what turns it into spiced apple.

 

Drying down: My skin is amping up the amber, making the fragrance hum a bit, but the resemblance to spiced apple candles is still there. It's likely the herbs are coming a bit more to the forefront as well. Now I'm getting a sweetness that sings out once in a while.

 

Dry: Still spiced apple candle. Likely lovely as a room scent, but I think I'll pass.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Apple and amber. Much in the way that tea rose and violet run alongside each other in Marie, the two main notes in this oil are very distinct in the imp.

 

Wet: The scents remain distinct, although as others have mentioned, there is a buttery undertone to everything that comes from the amber. The crispness of the apple is 'on top.'

 

Drydown and wear: Much the same as the wet stage. Perhaps the amber starts to blend with the apple, but this is well after the oil loses its strength.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

i have a fabulously aged bottle of this and the scent has changed in interesting ways - it has become Dried Apples and Juniper Breeze.

a lovely, gorgeous scent that i find myself reaching for when i'm not sure what i wanna wear.

Edited April 6, 2009 by TrailerTrashPrincess

[strangemusic]

This was tested twice, as it ran into the lotion problem (basically, an unscented lotion with a noticeable chemical aspect to it), a sticky inferno masquerading as a Texas summer day... and, it turned out, the beginning of sinusoid congestion fun. The first time around, I smelled something vaguely, indiscriminately fruity, a mid-range, diffuse cloud of edible particles that was killed by my lotion... didn't have a chance.

 

Second time around: ah, delicious, sweet, rosy-green apple fragrance, almost that of a candied apple; this smell is expansive, airy, and wild-- think of taking a walk though an apple orchard, or a stand of wild apple trees. There's that quality to it, no doubt intensified because of the herbal addition. I can't tell what said herbs are, this is so skillfully blended.

 

On my skin, herbs crisp up, leap forth like a spear, leaving the apple scent as a poor, ragged third cousin once removed. There's power here, a living green, a conscious worker of Rule against Chaos.

 

An odd, muted bump?...perhaps the black amber. It's not quite supporting, not quite blending, just there; as this oil dries, though, the amber does a better job of harmonizing with the sweet apple, which makes its tentative return after the prior herbal smack-down. I'm put in mind of nothing so much as apple-scented shampoo, and in fact this would be a lovely scent to add to one's hair-care, as it's very light. Definitely a spring scent, but not for me.

 

C&P from my LJ, dated 17 July 2006 and slightly edited